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We weren't expecting this, especially from General Motors, which was forced to sell cars and trucks last month amidst rumors of impending bankruptcy (something that came to fruition as soon as the month was over). Despite this, GM posted a decrease in sales volume of only 29.55%. Sure, GM's sales decreased last month compared to May 2008, but they decreased at a far slower rate than its major Japanese competitors: Toyota (-40.72%), Honda (-41.46%) and Nissan (-33.10%). Plus, check out the chart below and you'll notice that GM's top four performing brands - Chevy (-23.74%), Cadillac (-39.86%), GMC (-22.13%) and Buick (-16.98%) - are the same ones that will be transferred over to New GM after it emerges from bankruptcy, which is certainly a good sign.

Ford Motor Company performed best of the mutli-brand manufacturers with a sales slide of only -24.25%. The Blue Oval was helped by new product offerings like the redesigned 2010 Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan and Lincoln MKZ, as well as an unexpectedly strong sales performance by Lincoln, which was the only brand this month that recorded a sales increase (credit the new MKS and a 103.3% increase in Town Car sales).

The rest of last month's sales results are below, all ordered by the most number of vehicles sold by volume to the least.

.

Brand

Volume

May-09

May-08

DSR*

DSR 5/09

DSR 5/08

.

Ford

-25.47%

137,167

184,042

-22.60%

5,276

6,816

.

Toyota

-41.22%

135,661

230,813

-38.96%

5,218

8,549

.

Chevrolet

-23.74%

127,510

167,202

-20.81%

4,904

6,193

.

Honda

-41.95%

88,875

153,104

-39.72%

3,418

5,671

.

Nissan

-32.58%

60,933

90,379

-29.99%

2,344

3,347

.

Dodge

-48.34%

41,399

80,130

-46.35%

1,592

2,968

.

Hyundai

-20.42%

36,937

46,415

-17.36%

1,421

1,719

.

Kia

-16.06%

26,060

31,047

-12.83%

1,002

1,150

.

GMC

-22.13%

23,926

30,724

-19.13%

920

1,138

.

Jeep

-39.67%

21,624

35,841

-37.35%

832

1,327

.

Volkswagen

-12.43%

19,568

22,346

-9.06%

753

828

.

BMW

-27.82%

18,383

25,469

-25.05%

707

943

.

Subaru

-5.05%

17,505

18,436

-1.40%

673

683

.

Lexus

-36.37%

16,922

26,593

-33.92%

651

985

.

Mazda

-40.12%

16,718

27,921

-37.82%

643

1,034

.

Chrysler

-51.22%

15,987

32,776

-49.35%

615

1,214

.

Mercedes-Benz

-38.18%

15,134

24,480

-35.80%

582

907

.

Pontiac

-52.34%

13,329

27,966

-50.51%

513

1,036

.

Mercury

-24.81%

10,221

13,593

-21.91%

393

503

.

Acura

-36.42%

9,469

14,893

-33.97%

364

552

.

Buick

-16.98%

9,160

11,033

-13.78%

352

409

.

Lincoln

2.40%

8,566

8,365

6.34%

329

310

.

Saturn

-55.54%

8,046

18,099

-53.83%

309

670

.

Cadillac

-39.86%

8,027

13,348

-37.55%

309

494

.

Audi

-12.08%

7,503

8,534

8.70%

289

316

.

Infiniti

-38.10%

6,496

10,495

-35.72%

250

389

.

Volvo

-22.95%

5,577

7,238

-19.98%

215

268

.

Volvo

-22.95%

5,577

7,238

-19.98%

215

268

.

Mini

-26.96%

4,610

6,312

-24.16%

177

234

.

Mitsubishi

-58.27%

4,352

10,430

-56.67%

167

386

.

Suzuki

-75.06%

2,585

10,364

-74.10%

99

384

.

Porsche

-29.22%

1,979

2,796

-26.50%

76

104

.

Hummer

-40.64%

1,094

1,843

-38.36%

42

68

.

Saab

-63.55%

783

2,148

-62.15%

30

80

.

.

COMPANIES

.

General Motors

-29.55%

191,875

272,363

-26.84%

7,380

10,088

.

Ford Mo Co

-24.25%

161,531

213,238

-21.33%

6,213

7,898

.

Toyota Mo Co

-40.72%

152,583

257,406

-38.44%

5,869

9,534

.

Honda America

-41.46%

98,344

167,997

-39.21%

3,782

6,222

.

Chrysler Group

-46.88%

79,010

148,747

-44.84%

3,039

5,509

.

Nissan NA

-33.10%

67,489

100,874

-30.52%

2,596

3,736

.

BMW Group

-27.65%

22,993

31,781

-24.87%

884

1,177

.

.

*The daily selling rate (DSR) is calculated with 26 days for May 2009 and 27 for May 2008.